Forging Soldiers and Generals

Thinking that there were three other troublesome guys like Zhi Jingzi, Li Fan felt a headache coming on, but Xiao Qingzhi didn't seem to be there to fight.

Now, inside the Yellow Springs Waterway, Li Fan is being swept away by the Weak Water and has no energy left to play many tricks. He must do his best to maintain his Microcosmic Body and repair the parts that have been destroyed by the Weak Water. He cannot even exert the full power of his clone.

Meanwhile, Xiao Qingzhi, who was blocking the way, stood in a boat, holding a yellow pearl in his hand. The pearl shone brightly, forcing even the Weak Water to stay away from him, and he occupied the waterway.

Clearly, Xiao Qingzhi was very familiar with the terrain of the Yellow Springs and had long ago set up this altar. Perhaps he even helped the Grand Tutor set up this trial, giving him a significant advantage in terms of location.

However, it was probably during Zhi Jingzi's test that Li Fan's true strength was revealed. As Chen Jinu's Three Corpses, essentially the same person, Xiao Qingzhi was one of the few people in the world who knew Li Fan's true trump cards. He should also be aware that even if he temporarily gained the upper hand and forced Li Fan to unleash his second stage, it would be useless. Even Zhi Jingzi couldn't deal with the Tai Sha Star Core; unless Three Corpses them attacked together, they had no chance of winning. Therefore, he had been deliberately avoiding Li Fan's pursuit and direct confrontation all these years. If it weren't for the importance of this matter, Xiao Qingzhi's avatar probably wouldn't have shown up at all.

Of course, this time the other party didn't need to fight Li Fan to the death; they just wanted to buy time, trap him in the underworld, and wait for the Grand Tutor to achieve enlightenment.

"Fellow Daoist possesses the Tai Su Dao, is favored by the Thousand-Faced Immortal, and has a past relationship with the Grand Tutor. Since he intends to convert, he should impart the Great Dao to me and help my Primordial Heaven gain momentum. I wonder why you have sneaked in from the Yellow Springs at this time and place? Could it be that you are trying to prevent the Grand Tutor from attaining the Dao?"

Seeing that the infiltration operation had failed and he wasn't confident he could get through unscathed, Li Fan decided to be straightforward.

"I have been sent by the Supreme True One of Penglai, the Manifestation Dao Lord, to deliver a message to the Grand Tutor. Please convey this message, fellow Daoist."

Xiao Qingzhi laughed and said, "Why does Daozi always hang out with that scoundrel Xianhua? Don't you know that this scoundrel repeatedly ruined important matters of the Luo Sect back then, and even the immortals disliked him?"

Oh my, this is the first time I've heard of this. Manifestation, you've really made the natives proud...

Li Fan knew the other party was intentionally stalling for time, so he had to suppress his gossipy nature and steer the conversation back on track.

"Sending the letter was just a side thing. I also came to congratulate the Grand Tutor on passing the tribulation. Besides, passing the tribulation at the Enlightenment Stage and breaking through to the Tai Su Dao is a rare opportunity, and I also want to see it for myself."

"At a time like this, Fellow Daoist Xiao actually has the leisure to lie in wait for me here. His cunning and skill are truly astounding."

Xiao Qingzhi laughed, "I wasn't waiting for you, fellow Daoist. We just happened to meet. I really didn't expect you to recognize my background. It seems this is destiny."

What? Not waiting for me?

Suddenly, a bell rang in Li Fan's ears. As he turned his head, Li Fan saw a jade toad with a silver bell tied to its left foreleg and a white jade gourd on its back hopping along the Weak Water from the waterway behind him.

"Holy crap! Jade Toad Granny!"

Li Fan casually slapped him across the face.

As soon as Jade Toad emerged from the water and landed, a palm struck him from above. With no way to dodge, he was terrified and screamed for help.

Of course, Xiao Qingzhi was already prepared. With a flick of his sleeve, he unleashed a burst of Xuanhuang sword energy, dispersing the palm wind and saving the toad's life!

"The Dustless Easy Qi Sword?"

Li Fan recognized him at a glance, and without slowing down his movements, he unleashed another wave of palm wind to blast the monster.

Xiao Qingzhi smiled without saying a word, and also launched a series of sword strikes, instantly breaking through Li Fan's palm force with a continuous stream of Qi sword energy.

The Jade Toad seized the opportunity to escape, leaping through the water with another water escape technique. With a tinkling sound, it landed on the ship's side, rolled on the ground, and transformed into a little girl with a silver bell on her wrist and a gourd tied to her back. Trembling, she prostrated herself at Xiao Qingzhi's feet and kowtowed, "Thank you for saving me, Master."

Xiao Qingzhi ignored it and smiled at Li Fan, "How did my little toad offend you, fellow Daoist?"

"... Dan Chan?"

Li Fan frowned, taking a closer look at the pale-faced girl. She was practically a carbon copy of Jade Toad Granny, both at the Transformation Stage, even sharing the same Jade Toad form. However, upon closer inspection, while their Divine Sense fluctuations were indeed slightly different, the difference wasn't significant...

Looking at the timid Jade Toad girl who seemed about to cry, Li Fan suddenly understood.

"Are they sisters born in the same litter?"

Surely a toad can't also cultivate the "Taishang Sanshi Zhongjing"...

Xiao Qingzhi, with his hands behind his back, said, "Since the disappearance of Daoist Yuqing Lingxu, the herbalist toads of Qingcheng Mountain have long since vanished. I only have one as a family heirloom, and I have no knowledge of any sisters. Fellow Daoist, you must have misunderstood."

"Misunderstanding? You, Nangong Seven Friends, wouldn't know about the great demon Jade Toad Granny of the Ten-thousand-mountains?"

Li Fan frowned.

Xiao Qingzhi shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Since you know that I am the corpse of Peng Liao, how can you not know the principle that the Three Corpses will not reunite unless they are in the midst of a tribulation?"

"I have never been to Lizhou. The matter of Tai Su Daoist involves the whole world. It's fine if Zhi Jingzi mentions it briefly in his letter. I am also the head of a sect, why would I care about the monsters in the Ten-thousand-mountains?"

"What? Zhi Jingzi even wrote letters to her own corpse worms?"

Li Fan said, "I really don't understand your relationship..."

Then he glanced at the little girl who was stealing his eyes, "But it should know, right? Hey! Little toad! Don't you have a relative who's a big toad that likes to eat people and has dimples when it smiles?"

"Waaah!" The little girl hid behind Xiao Qingzhi in fright.

Xiao Qingzhi couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Alright, Daozi, there's no need to press him any further. Didn't you come to deliver a message? Then come with me to see the Grand Tutor."

Seeing that the other party had clearly admitted to being Zhi Jingzi's Three Corpses, yet stubbornly refused to admit it on such a trivial matter as Jade Toad Granny, Li Fan was somewhat baffled. He wondered what virtue or ability this beast Jade Toad Granny possessed to have such an unyielding fate.

But regardless, Xiao Qingzhi didn't seem to have any intention of 'intercepting' him; he really just came to pick up the little toad. Moreover, he seemed genuinely going to lead the way, with no intention of fighting. So Li Fan simply flew to the other ship and landed, looking at the little girl crouching with her head in her hands at Xiao Qingzhi's feet, and asked...

"I wonder what you sent your pill toad out to retrieve at this time?"

Xiao Qingzhi smiled, "Take the elixir."

That's utter nonsense...

Xiao Qingzhi said, "Why does Daozi need to get to the bottom of this? Didn't you say that this is a rare opportunity? Everyone is here to witness the ceremony. Except for that fellow Xianhua who wants to compete for a false reputation, which cultivator at the Transformation Stage doesn't want to peek into the secrets of heaven, see the true face of the Tai Su Dao, and find a way out for themselves?"

"You bear the destiny of the Primordial Heaven, and I'm still waiting for you to open up a new path. Don't get bogged down in these trivial matters."

Li Fan asked in surprise, "You also want to walk the Tai Su Dao? But you're a corpse worm... Oh, is it because you're Three Corpses Corpse Worm?"

Seeing that Li Fan had understood, Xiao Qingzhi nodded and said, "That's exactly right. The Tribulation of the Supreme Three Corpses is also my tribulation. I will inevitably have a battle with Zhi Jingzi sooner or later. He has cultivated under the tutelage of an immortal from beyond the realm and has also befriended a highly accomplished master like the Holy Mother Ancestor Luo. Now he has already attained enlightenment before me. When the Primordial Chaos opens the Heavenly Realm, the gap between us will only widen. I have also been stuck at the Divine Transformation stage for a long time. This tribulation of the Grand Tutor is my last chance. How can I miss it?"

That's true. Although in this Daoist practice, the Three Corpses Worms are specifically designed to be killed by the main body, from the worms' perspective, don't they each believe that they are the true main body, and the other clones are the Three Corpses? Why should they deserve to be killed? Don't they want to retaliate, fight back, and reclaim their true selves?

Li Fan thought for a moment and suggested, "Then why don't we join forces? You lure Zhi Jingzi out, and I'll help you kill him? I'll even help you dispose of the corpse!"

Xiao Qingzhi laughed heartily, "Daozi, you really know how to joke. Only severing Three Corpses is effective. If you kill him, wouldn't my opportunity be gone?"

Li Fan laughed and said, "I'm not joking. According to this logic, if I kill you first, his opportunity will also be gone."

Xiao Qingzhi nodded, "That makes sense, but I have no other way to go for the time being. However, Zhi Jingzi has reached this level and probably no longer cares about taking the path of severing the three Three Corpses and ascending to immortality. Look at his manifestation now, isn't he also vying with the Grand Tutor to become the first ancestor of the Tai Su sect?"

I think the Tai Su Dao has a ceiling that's definitely not just the Feather Transformation Immortal realm; there might even be higher realms to come. And the connection between the Three Corpses is much closer than that between ordinary clones. Zhi Jingzi told me about the Tai Su Dao, probably hoping that I would walk this path and follow in his footsteps. Maybe when I get stuck at a certain realm in the future, he can even use my life to break through."

"The Three Corpses actually have such a wonderful use?"

What a loss! What was the point of cultivating the Qingxu Second Yuanshen? It's utterly useless except for managing other things... I wonder if it's too late to cultivate the Qiongqi and Guiche into the Three Corpses...

Li Fan ultimately didn't fight Xiao Qingzhi, after all, now was really not the time. Encountering him was just a side event, the main plot of this story was still about the Grand Tutor.

But because of this delay, by the time he and Xiao Qingzhi crossed the Yellow Springs Weak Water by boat and reached the deeper underground core of the formation, the Grand Tutor's calamity had already begun.

Xiao Qingzhi's small boat emerged from the Weak Waterway. The Weak Waterway seemed to flow backwards like Tianhe, cascading down like a waterfall into the underground city's waterways. Li Fan clearly saw that this underground space had been transformed into a replica of the old capital city of Sanyuan, with three cities surrounding six slopes, one hundred and eight wards, and the palace, Imperial City, and outer city all modeled after the old Wang Jing's layout, arranged according to celestial constellations, covering an area of 3,600 hectares. This layout and arrangement couldn't be said to bear any resemblance to Changsi City of Li Country; it was practically identical!

Looking up at the ceiling, countless demon heads hung from the cave walls, each enormous head blazing like a candle, set ablaze by the purple moonlight! These were clearly the demon heads, the spoils of the Immortal Palace's years of hunting, now burned as firewood! Purple light filled the sky, stars twinkled! A simulation of the primordial void!

And the largest one, that False Moon radiating purple light, was simulated using a freshly severed head!

The flesh of the severed head had not yet completely rotted away. The enormous head, with its hair and beard shaved clean, resembled a newborn infant, its skin wrinkled and squeezed together, measuring forty or fifty feet in diameter! Moreover, it did not seem to be completely dead, as if it were a madman, its huge mouth gaping open in silent, maniacal laughter, with purplish-black blood seeping from its skin, mouth, and nose! Spraying deadly radiation like flames!

Xiao Qingzhi was also looking at the head and introduced it to Li Fan, "This is Hou Gu."

"Hou Gu..."

Li Fan probably guessed it too. Sometimes you think you've been blessed with a destiny, that you can achieve great things, that you can be invincible and that no one can look down on you anymore. But in the end, after fighting and risking your life, doing whatever you want, you can only be a supporting character in the story with only a name, a lamp illuminating someone else's future.

Isn't that ironic?

Isn't it hilarious?

Li Fan shook his head, then looked at his feet and silently calculated in his mind.

The entire underground Wang Jing, surrounded by the Weak Water, has been arranged into a Zhou Tian Star Array of 108 wards in the Tianshi Yuan. It reflects the firelight of the demon star head and gathers the earth-shattering power of the Primordial Chaos, continuously generating evil energy. Under the influence of the Weak Water, it is sent into the Imperial City the Taiwei Yuan.

Here, countless fiendish corpses and demonic soldiers stood in formation, ready to fight! Moreover, these guards stationed at the imperial gate were all peerless experts at the Transformation Stage! The general commanding the Heavenly Palace in the city was at the peak of his strength, having reached the pinnacle of perfection! This group of fiendish corpses gathered together, exhaling the fiendish energy emanating from the Heavenly Market Star Enclosure Array. The entire Taiwei Imperial City was filled with fiendish energy and demonic breath! The billowing dark clouds and thick smoke almost obscured the sky and rock walls, turning them into a chaotic Void Abyss!

This is too strong! There must be tens of thousands of Divine Transformation! Even if all the cultivators on Yuntai Peak were combined, they wouldn't be enough to fight them!

Xiao Qingzhi was still explaining and pointing things out.

"Look, that's the famous Wen Tianjun, that's the commander of the Western Imperial Guards Junyi Army, and that's the famous Lord of Pingxiang of Kun Country. Hehe, these Immortal Palace generals, the official gazette says they were defeated by the Divine Sect and their whereabouts are unknown. Yuntai Peak thought they had been reincarnated after their deaths and were hiding among the people plotting something big. They probably never imagined that one by one they would end up here."

Li Fan also noticed that the most powerful generals and martial arts masters in the Immortal Palace, who were famous in history and Divine Transformation stage, had all become Fiend Corpse Demons. Their faces were covered with talismans, their collarbones and joints were pierced by long nails, and their hands and feet were bound by iron chains. They were trapped in the formation and had their terrifying power absorbed, becoming part of the formation!

Meanwhile, the Nascent Soul Stage guards at the Imperial City gates were arrayed together in a large formation. If they were merely pure ghouls, they would have lost their minds and attacked each other, but these demonic soldiers were now fully armored, wielding swords, spears, and halberds made of Yuanfeng Iron Flow. Only a talisman was affixed to their foreheads, and they were as quiet as a mecha legion awaiting orders. There were even several captains and officers who clearly still possessed their own consciousness! They were patrolling and guarding!

These are all demonic corpses with self-awareness, just like Lin Xiang!

Seeing that Li Fan seemed quite interested in these demonic soldiers, Xiao Qingzhi raised his hand towards the Jade Toad Girl, "Demon General Pill."

Upon hearing this, the little toad reached into its mouth and pulled out a pitch-black pill.

Xiao Qingzhi handed it to Li Fan and asked, "Fellow Daoist, can you tell?"

Li Fan took it, smelled it, and squinted his eyes. "A weapon-refining pill!"

Xiao Qingzhi stroked his beard and smiled, "Indeed, it is the Refining Pill! This pill has finally been successfully refined!"

In fact, the Immortal Palace had long been studying the art of external alchemy and already possessed the Divine Transformation Pill. However, the Divine Transformation Pill was hampered by the limited materials and difficulty in preparation. Furthermore, many of the key ingredients, including demonic spirits and divine Divine Beast, had become extinct, and those who were not loyal confidants of the court, such as eunuchs, were not trusted by the Ziwei Yuan to be given to outsiders. Therefore, the palace had been researching and improving new pill formulas.

With the opening of the primordial chaos, the Refining Pill, prepared by the Immortal Palace in their research on the demonic Devil Embryo of the drought demon, was among the first batch of pills to be improved and perfected using this favorable weather! This pill can be prepared simply by gathering evil spirits and corpses, and just one pill can help Nascent Soul Realm Martial God break through and become an immortal demon god general!

Did Daozi know that after these demon generals broke through by consuming pills, they were no longer bloodthirsty corpses? As long as the Tai Su Open Heaven and there was sufficient evil energy, they could completely control their bodies and regain their original consciousness! Moreover, their strength far surpassed that of their former selves! Every move they made possessed the power to destroy mountains and shatter the earth! If they were to combine this with the Blood Talisman God Sect's Overlord Body Divine Art, even ordinary Xuanmen elders would probably not be able to withstand a single punch from a demon general!

Although Nascent Soul Stage Martial God are rare and hard to find, they must be a level above the Divine Lords cultivated by the Xuanmen! If we gather them all under the Grand Tutor's umbrella and assemble an army of demon gods here, what would we have to fear from his manifestation!

Good heavens! Good heavens! Mass-produced demon generals! Holy crap!!

This is the Grand Tutor's vision, the Grand Tutor's style... No! That's not right! It's not the Grand Tutor's! It's the company's!

The elixir of immortality from the Immortal Palace, and the company's artificial immortal technology! It's almost complete!

Li Fan finally understood why the store managers and customer service staff had changed time and again, yet the company hadn't reacted at all. Simply put, it was because the company system possessing this dimension's core business in the Taiji Realm —the immortal transformation—had never actually stopped!

The company has been controlling the Immortal Palace through the Ziwei Yuan, and has also infiltrated the Immortal Clan, researching the power of the immortals in this world and researching technological means to enhance humans!

The weapon-refining pills that enhance the combat power of immortal soldiers were the earliest enhancement drugs developed by the Immortal Palace through research on the Devil Embryo of the demon god Drought Demon and the collection of evil corpses from various places!

However, this elixir is too potent, and human strength is limited, so it cannot be sustained for long. Once the essence and blood are exhausted, the immortal soldier will surely die. Even if the potency of the medicine is reduced, the person who takes the medicine still cannot control himself and will completely lose his mind, becoming like a walking corpse, only bloodthirsty and murderous. Therefore, it is called the Corpse Refining Pill in the army. Those weakened and improved versions have become the external alchemy method of the current Immortal Palace.

But now, with the opening of the Great Primordial Heaven and the False Moon in the sky, not only has the upper limit of ancient methods been opened, but the upper limit of External Alchemy the Immortal Refining Immortal Palace has also been opened!

Furthermore, the Immortal Palace might need to find Nascent Soul Stage Martial God to consume the Demon General Pill, but the company doesn't! Cloning will suffice!

The company has long been able to mass-produce Bio-Human clones of Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realm, and now it can even mass-produce Divine Transformation Generals!

Li Fan was speechless for a long time, but he forced himself to calm down. He turned his head to look at Wen Tianjun and the others who were bound in the palace of Taiwei Imperial City. Thinking of Lin Xiang's condition, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"With such a divine pill, Grand Tutor could easily sweep away the world, wouldn't he? Yet he's still so cautious... Could it be that this Demon God Pill has been improved too successfully?"

Xiao Qingzhi exclaimed, "As expected of the Tai Su Daoist, he saw the flaws at a glance."

Indeed, those who can withstand the effects of the medicine are all at the Nascent Soul Realm, possessing the physique of a Martial God. Each of them is an unruly Martial God. As for those at the Transformation Stage, most of them are military leaders of the Eight Immortal Armies. Back then, they were arrogant and fierce generals who refused to submit to the Three Realms. That's why the Grand Tutor captured them and used them as experimental subjects for testing the medicine.

Now, thanks to the success of the Demon General Pill, these demon gods have become increasingly powerful and have developed their own consciousness, making it difficult to completely tame and control them.

Although the Grand Tutor possessed the Enlightenment Stage and extraordinary abilities, his strength was no longer sufficient to suppress so many Divine Transformation Generals. Until he could find a proper way to control these demon generals, he could only imprison them temporarily and use them as firewood.

However, if this calamity can be overcome, and the Grand Tutor is promoted to the Celestial Devil Emperor, then the Demon God's army will surely submit to him.

Li Fan followed Xiao Qingzhi's gaze and looked towards the northeast corner of Taiwei Imperial City, where the central hub of the great formation guarded by the Demon God's army was enveloped in a Xuanhuang aura. The imperial palace stood majestically in the center of the storm, yet remained silent.

That was the place of the Grand Tutor of the Three Enclosures, the Duke of Shouyang.

If he can survive this ordeal, the whole world will probably have to bow down and submit to him.